[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Color-Blocks were definitely done at Fisher Body for painting.
No idea after that.
So few Patterns had AC they probably didn't need to scatter them much , other than to separate any coincidental AC cars from going back to back.

[johnta1]

I just added another Pattern Judge!
Zone 07 #00063


Pattern Judges with Comments

[johnta1]

Thanks to Angelo for giving me correction to Zone 04 #00045
The Zone office # is 995.

[OneJudge]

I wanted to share what I believe is one of the most historically significant and best-documented early 1969 GTO Judges in existence.
My car is a Framingham-built 1969 GTO Judge (VIN 242379G125205). It is the lead / pilot unit of the verified five-car DON 00017 corporate pilot batch — the official documented start of regular Judge production under Pontiac’s “pattern cars” rollout.
Key facts supported by primary documents:
• Validated by Jim Mattison / Pontiac Historical Services as the very first Judge built at the Framingham Assembly Plant for regular production.
• Part of the DON 00017 five-car corporate pilot allocation (Framingham + Atlanta ×2 + Arlington + Fremont), built in the exact mid-January 1969 window described in Pontiac’s own May 8, 1969 internal production memo (“Production of The Judge started in mid January with 1,000 pattern cars being built in Carousel Red only”).
• Matches the exact specifications authorized in the December 12, 1968 Car Distribution Bulletin — the official corporate document that created the Judge option (Sales Code 554 / WT-1).
• Complete surviving factory documentation: Full PHS report, original broadcast sheet (correctly showing DON/Order #00017), and cowl tag (01B date + trim tag FN 56607 Parchment interior).
• Built during the first realistic week of regular production after the New Year holiday shutdown. Dealers were not yet authorized to place regular customer orders — this was a corporate-directed pilot allocation.
This is not speculation. It is backed by primary Pontiac Motor Division documents from 1968–1969, combined with exceptional surviving factory records.
I’ve spent years researching and documenting this car, including the full DON 00017 pilot batch. I’m happy to share the documentation with serious researchers or historians.
Photos attached: car, broadcast sheet, and cowl tag.
Appreciate any thoughtful discussion.

[Held for Ransom]

Originally Posted by OneJudge

I wanted to share what I believe is one of the most historically significant and best-documented early 1969 GTO Judges in existence.
My car is a Framingham-built 1969 GTO Judge (VIN 242379G125205). It is the lead / pilot unit of the verified five-car DON 00017 corporate pilot batch — the official documented start of regular Judge production under Pontiac’s “pattern cars” rollout.
Key facts supported by primary documents:
• Validated by Jim Mattison / Pontiac Historical Services as the very first Judge built at the Framingham Assembly Plant for regular production.
• Part of the DON 00017 five-car corporate pilot allocation (Framingham + Atlanta ×2 + Arlington + Fremont), built in the exact mid-January 1969 window described in Pontiac’s own May 8, 1969 internal production memo (“Production of The Judge started in mid January with 1,000 pattern cars being built in Carousel Red only”).
• Matches the exact specifications authorized in the December 12, 1968 Car Distribution Bulletin — the official corporate document that created the Judge option (Sales Code 554 / WT-1).
• Complete surviving factory documentation: Full PHS report, original broadcast sheet (correctly showing DON/Order #00017), and cowl tag (01B date + trim tag FN 56607 Parchment interior).
• Built during the first realistic week of regular production after the New Year holiday shutdown. Dealers were not yet authorized to place regular customer orders — this was a corporate-directed pilot allocation.
This is not speculation. It is backed by primary Pontiac Motor Division documents from 1968–1969, combined with exceptional surviving factory records.
I’ve spent years researching and documenting this car, including the full DON 00017 pilot batch. I’m happy to share the documentation with serious researchers or historians.
Photos attached: car, broadcast sheet, and cowl tag.
Appreciate any thoughtful discussion.

I would think there would be more than 5 00017 cars. There should been an 00017 for each major Zone number.

[OneJudge]

Originally Posted by Held for Ransom

I would think there would be more than 5 00017 cars. There should been an 00017 for each major Zone number.

;
Only 5 needed 1 pilot test for each assembly plant building the A chassis there were other DON ‘ S
00018 - 00143 my possession these all went to dealerships around the country. The Plsn to get them our fast

[johnta1]

There are more than 1 'DON' per plant, with only 5 plants for the dealer zones.

Link to the Pattern Judges.

Click the heading 'Pattern' and it will list by the pattern number.
Example: A-Atlanta has 2 pattern 00017's
One in Zone 19 and one in Zone 20.
One each for the other plants.

Also this page does not have every example out there. I would like to get all the examples that were made though!

There are many others not found yet.

[north]

hmmm

[Held for Ransom]

Pattern Judge on BaT. I see John is already on it.
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...c-gto-judge-38

[north]

DON (Dealer Order Number) is by Zone not by plant.

I do have another Judge in my listing from Framingham that has a VIN number over 5,000 earlier than the car in question. VIN's were not exactly sequential but 5,000 cars represents probably three weeks Pontiac production at that plant.

[Held for Ransom]

Do you have any internal documentation showing the itinerary of the project manager starting at the Framingham plant, then Atlanta, Arlington and Fremont? If there were 5 cars slated, I would think the first 2 would have been at the first plant, or even all 5. And repeated at the other plants. Mainly worrying about color, spoiler placement and stripe placement (Bypass Code 2).

[OneJudge]

Originally Posted by Held for Ransom

Do you have any internal documentation showing the itinerary of the project manager starting at the Framingham plant, then Atlanta, Arlington and Fremont? If there were 5 cars slated, I would think the first 2 would have been at the first plant, or even all 5. And repeated at the other plants. Mainly worrying about color, spoiler placement and stripe placement (Bypass Code 2).

Thanks for the question.
The DON 000017 allocation was a small corporate-directed pilot (one car per major A-body plant, with Atlanta receiving two) built in mid-January 1969. There is no single surviving internal document that shows a project manager traveling between plants with an itinerary. Each plant received its allocation and built its car(s) locally to the specifications authorized in the December 12, 1968 Car Distribution Bulletin (Sales Code 554 / WT-1).
Color
Pontiac’s May 8, 1969 internal production memo states that the initial pattern cars were built in Carousel Red only. All five DON 000017 cars were Carousel Red.
Bypass Code 2
This code appears on Judge builds across multiple plants. It routed the vehicle onto the special Judge option assembly path for the WT1 accessories, decals, spoiler, and stripes — distinguishing it from a standard GTO on the regular line. It is not unique to the five-car pilot batch.
For the Framingham lead/pilot unit (VIN 242379G125205) specifically:
• Cowl tag shows 01B build date (first realistic week of regular production after the New Year shutdown).
• Broadcast sheet shows DON/Order #000017 and Bypass Code 2.
• Validated by Jim Mattison / Pontiac Historical Services as the very first Judge built at the Framingham Assembly Plant for regular production.
Key documentation for this car (broadcast sheet showing DON 000017, cowl tag, and PHS validation) has already been referenced in the thread and is available to anyone seriously contributing to the Pattern Judge Roll Call. I’m happy to provide additional specifics or clarification if it helps the effort.
Appreciate you raising these points — this kind of detailed discussion strengthens the historical record.
OneJudge